All very interesting. I was hard-wired for math -- top .3%. It made certain aspects of my job easier -- I could calculate, intuit, or otherwise "know" or recognize things others wouldn't see -- but so what? Life happens, and it is what we make it. Now I near retirement and have new choices to make. Improving my health (including getting to a healthy weight) is a goal at hand.

I loved the "Golden Rule" that was on our childhood rulers back in the 50s. It's as important today as it was back then: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

"The real secret of success is enthusiasm..." thanks, Walter P. Chrysler. I believe it. That's what I want in my life--to give my imagination a chance, to live with energy and enthusiasm! P.S. I looked up enthusiasm, and it says the root words mean God within... interesting...!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said 'Life belongs to the energetic.' But you don't have to be frenetic and hyper--some energy is quiet and steady, like a heartbeat... and that works too! LOL

I wish I could say "yes, that's true!" Sad fact is...they're still trying to figure out what the heck Fibro is. The advert for Lyrica cracks me up because they seem so definite that it's misfiring of nerves, and my doctors are like "Yeah, that's one possible theory."

I wasn't a dumb kid..I don't know if I'd call myself intelligent..though parents have said I am. *shrugs* I just know that the symptoms started manifesting at about seven to eight years of age. We didn't know what it was back then, and adults wrote it off as growing pains and hypochondria.

I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers. -- Helen Keller

very true. A LOT of people in the low to middle GPA bracket are brilliantly successful! Wonder how many of THEM have fibro?... probably quite a few, if stress is any indicator! LOL

"The real secret of success is enthusiasm..." thanks, Walter P. Chrysler. I believe it. That's what I want in my life--to give my imagination a chance, to live with energy and enthusiasm! P.S. I looked up enthusiasm, and it says the root words mean God within... interesting...!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said 'Life belongs to the energetic.' But you don't have to be frenetic and hyper--some energy is quiet and steady, like a heartbeat... and that works too! LOL

I don't think one has anything to do with the other. Smart people get mental illness, fibromyalgia and other diseases and problems just like people who were not in the upper percentage of grades. Which is smarter though; street (life experience) lessons or just grades. Common sense can be lacking from the supposedly really smart people and very much there in the lower percentage grade wise. So what part of intelligence are we talking about? Bad things happen to good people everyday. Life is life and you never know what your going to be dealt next. I guess I don't hold to the normal supposedly intelligent that people like the ones in congress are supposed to be but seem like they only listen to money and not to the people they are hurting everyday by not really listening to the people. Then there are also the ones who would do just as well as the educated person at a job, even though they did not have as much schooling. My grades in elementary and high school were not that great, but I was hurrassed and bullied all the way through because of my weight, even when I went from 275 to 175 back then. College I held a 3.68 grade average. Situations in life can be the difference to a lot of things.

You can do all things you set your mind to. You can do all things through Christ that strengthens all. Challenge to remind myself of this daily. sparkpeople.com

Interesting theory, but I don't think it has much basis in reality! LOL

My inclination leans toward a belief that the OVERACHIEVERS are more likely candidates... most of the people on this team have worked VERY hard, and are intelligent and normally articulate--with the exception of "fibro-fog" days, of course! LOL

I was an exceptional student all the way through as well. In fourth grade, I was put into a special summer school for gifted children, for my writing skills. I never really studied in high school, and had a 3.68 grade point average (didn't do well in Phys Ed, always on crutches! LOL) and aced my SATs, also in the top 5%... got 100% on several subjects. I even did well in subjects I couldn't stand. And I had a 4.0 GPA in college--NEVER smoked, and was 125 pounds and wore a size 9. I was actually happy with my weight then because the 98 pounds I weighed at high school graduation made me look a bit anorexic...

I only became overweight after a dance instructor at my college told me I needed to diet--I don't to this day know why I listened to her. I guess because I was young, and naive... lol

I lost muscle instead of fat (I didn't have much fat to lose! lol) and landed in the hospital because my body couldn't handle the additional stress. I had to drop out of school for a while because I couldn't finish that quarter due to the health issue, so my financial aid was denied.

The problem was compounded later when I was injured in a series of car accidents... been a roller coaster ride ever since!

I don't know how long I've had the fibromyalgia, For the longest time, I didn't realize that other people didn't feel things the way I did--but it really started making an impact when I was still successfully working at a $71,000.000 corporation. I made pretty good money... socioeconomic status? Hm.

And I still hate that they even mention mental health in relation to fibro. Usually, they're referring to depression. EVERYONE has moments. And everyone who deals with a chronic illness is going to have a few more of them. SO WHAT?! That is NOT what fibromyalgia is. We're not in pain because we're depressed, we get depressed because we're in pain, people!

Sorry.

I'll get off my soap box now... LOL

We're smart. Fibromyalgia sucks, but we get through it, one moment at a time.

Kathy

Edited by: I.M.MAGIC at: 4/2/2013 (10:20)

"The real secret of success is enthusiasm..." thanks, Walter P. Chrysler. I believe it. That's what I want in my life--to give my imagination a chance, to live with energy and enthusiasm! P.S. I looked up enthusiasm, and it says the root words mean God within... interesting...!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said 'Life belongs to the energetic.' But you don't have to be frenetic and hyper--some energy is quiet and steady, like a heartbeat... and that works too! LOL

I was a gifted student growing up. I find this theory very interesting with the exception that it doesn't seem to apply to any of us.

""Our hypotheses were that men and women who scored lower on the test of intelligence in childhood would have an increased risk of [chronic widespread pain] in midlife and that some of this association would be mediated through socioeconomic status, mental health or lifestyle factors in adulthood," Gale added."

I wasn't a smoker until I worked in the restaurant industry (where smoking actually earns you a break) and it wasn't for too long.

I'm like you. I scored in the upper percentiles on intelligence tests in school. But started smoking at 15 (not too intelligent!) and smoked for 15 years, and have been overweight as an adult. Interesting study.

I don't know how accurate this article is, but I was in the top 5% in the intelligence tests all through school, and ended up with fibromyalgia. However, I was overweight and was a smoker for ten years as an adult, which was part of their statistics. I'd like to hear from others about this.

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